


The Uninvited

by DarkKnightDarkSide



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Demon Kylo Ren, F/M, Horror, Ouija, Tags will be updated, Wicca, death (mention of), we're just getting started
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2021-01-02 17:46:46
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,415
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21165623
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkKnightDarkSide/pseuds/DarkKnightDarkSide
Summary: Rey never got the chance to know her parents, her greatest regret in life. When Kaydel offers her a unique solution through the use of Ouija, it won't be her parents that step through from the other side.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [feritas](https://archiveofourown.org/users/feritas/gifts).

> Thank you to La_Catrina for the fascinating prompt! As a lover of all things Halloween, I couldn't pass up the chance to write demon Kylo. I will be adding tags as I go so please remember to keep checking them (additional warnings will be given for potential triggers).

_ Five Years Ago: _

Rey slid the scissors along the line of clear tape that sealed the last cardboard box together and unfolded its closed flaps. It hadn’t taken her long to unpack, not having much with her in the first place, and she was nearly finished before her roommate had even arrived. 

Just then, she heard a sharp intake of breath in the doorway behind her, and she turned to see who was there.

It was a girl: petite, wide eyed, with her blonde hair wound into an intricate braid spanning the crown of her head. She was wearing a sheer top with bell sleeves that draped at her wrists, and a flowing green skirt beneath it. Her eyes were peculiarly closed, and she was standing stock still in the door frame. 

Rey felt her expression twist into something half comic, half quizzical. What on earth was this girl doing? Was this her new roommate? If she was going to have to share the room with a loony, she would really prefer to sleep alone. 

Before Rey could open her mouth, the girl’s eyes sprang open. She was grinning. It should have been creepy, considering the unorthodox first impression she had just made, but somehow it was...endearing? Her face lit up like a soft summer moon and she immediately walked over to where Rey stood. 

“So sorry about that, I always like to get a sense for the energy of a room before I walk in, so I know how to prepare myself.” 

“Oh, um, right...” Rey wasn’t sure how to respond to _ that _ but before she could say more, the girl was hugging her as a way of greeting. 

“I’m Kaydel!” She exclaimed, throwing her arms around Rey as though they were the best of friends just meeting again after a long separation.

“Woah, oh, ok! Hi, Kaydel,” Rey tried to squirm away from the embrace but still maintain a somewhat polite facade. She was not really too big on hugs. 

“Oh, I’m sorry! I can be a little overeager sometimes, I know.” 

Rey gave her a tight smile. “It’s OK. Personal space is just something I’m weird about, you know? But really, I’m glad to meet you. I’m Rey.”

“Nice to meet you too,” Kaydel was smiling back, though her own was anything but tight. “You know, Rey, I should have sensed that about you. You have a really guarded aura.”

Rey nearly looked around for the hidden cameras. Was this actually happening right now? “Uh, thanks?”

“It’s not necessarily a bad thing. Just means there’s a cool blue fringe to it, but in the center, I can see that it’s a really warm yellow. It’s usually...an indication that you’ve lost someone close to you? So being cautious makes sense. But I know with more time to get to know each other, we’ll be the best of friends!” 

Chills ran down Rey’s neck at that. It wasn’t something she was ready to talk about, losing her parents at such a young age. But Kaydel had known it, just by looking at her…’aura??’ Could there actually be something legit to this mumbo jumbo? 

“Y—yeah, I hope so too,” she mumbled, and went back to unpacking her boxes.

Kaydel was right about one thing though: despite that first odd meeting, she and Rey became fast friends. They spent the next three years rooming together in the dorms, until Kaydel decided to leave school to become a full time yoga instructor and Reiki healer. Rey didn’t always understand her friend’s beliefs, but she didn’t let it come between them, either. The rest of the time they spent going on hikes, cooking new recipes — Kaydel always had some new food trend from Instagram she was dying to try— and scoping out cute guys on their campus. 

One crisp fall afternoon of sophomore year, Kaydel found Rey in their room, crying and holding her only picture of her parents. It was a faded wedding photo Rey kept in a jeweled frame; her mother was smiling happily from beneath an antique lace veil, and her father clutched his bride’s hand on the steps of a stone chapel. Rey always kept the photograph on her desk, but she had never let Kaydel see her cry over it before.

They died in a car accident when Rey was only two years old, and she spent the next sixteen years bouncing around from one foster home to the next. It was strange, to miss people you barely had a memory of, yet she profoundly ached to know just who they had been. If only she had gotten a chance to talk to them, now that she was in her early adulthood herself; to ask them for guidance and to hear them say they were proud of her. She would have given anything, she thought, as she clutched the photograph in one hand and tried to covertly wipe her tears away with the other.

“Hey, hey,” Kaydel said gently, sitting on the futon next to Rey. “What’s wrong, Sunshine?” She asked, using her nickname for her friend. 

Rey tried to choke back her emotion. She _ hated _ seeming weak in front of anyone, even her best friend. “It’s nothing, Kaydel.”

“It’s not nothing. I can see it as plain as the nose on your face, it’s all in your chakras. You regret never knowing them for yourself, don’t you?”

By now Rey was used to her friend’s prescience. Kaydel would say she was in tune with the divine, but Rey just chalked it up to Kaydel being great with people, and especially good at reading her. Knowing it was no use trying to hide things from Kaydel, she relented.

“Yes, I do, so much. I just wish I could talk to them somehow, let them know I’m doing OK, and I still think of them every day,” she sighed. 

“You know they’re watching over you though, don’t you? They have always been protecting you, all this time,” Kaydel said softly, stroking Rey’s chestnut colored hair.

Rey sniffed. “What do you mean? Like, angels? You know I don’t really believe in that...”

“Not like angels,” Kaydel replied, glossing over Rey’s admission of doubt. “People don’t become angels when they die. More like spirits. They’re around you, Rey; I felt it the first moment we met.”

Rey shook her head. “Kay, I know you’re trying to make me feel better but I wish you wouldn’t say things like that when you can’t prove them.”

“I _ could _ prove it, if you’d only let me. There are ways of contacting those beyond.”

“No, we’ve been over this. I’m happy you have something that works for you, but I don’t think I can just bring my parents back by lighting a few candles and saying a chant. You know I love you with my whole heart, but I just don’t believe that.” Rey curled her knees to her chest and hugged her arms around them. 

“Ok, Rey, I understand. But if you ever change your mind, you know I’d love to help you. I only want you to be happy,” she said in a soothing tone.

“I know. And thank you. I think I’m going to go for a walk now, ok?” Rey stood to her feet and headed toward the door where her slip on sneakers were placed.

“Ok. Want to grab dinner later?” Kaydel lifted her eyebrows. 

“Sure, Kay. That sounds good,” she replied, and headed into the hall.

It was nice to clear her head in the cool autumn air. She stared at her feet as she crunched the leaves beneath them, and thought back over what Kaydel had said. Rey had never been a believer in much of anything; what did it change, when the only one you could truly count on in this life was yourself? 

Still, of all the unusual things Kaydel had said before, she was somehow stuck on her saying that her parents were watching over her. It wasn’t even that strange of a thing to say. Rey had heard other people who believed in ideas far more mainstream than Kaydel’s echo similar sentiments before. But Kaydel had said she knew it “from the moment they met.” Her mind flashed back to that first day, and how she had picked up that Rey had lost someone close to her almost immediately. It had given her chills then, she remembered, and she had the same feeling now.

Because as much as Rey did not want to acknowledge it, she too had always felt there was something - or someone - guiding and protecting her. 

It wasn’t anything she could give evidence for, just small things throughout her life that made her feel looked after. Times growing up in foster care when other kids had bullied her, and then suddenly become violently ill shortly after. Times she had been wandering in the city and became hopelessly lost, only to have her attention inexplicably drawn to a side road that led her back home. Once, when she had been placed with a “parent” who withheld food as punishment and she was so very hungry, she found a $50 bill in her book bag that she used to buy and hoard snacks in her room. 

Maybe Kaydel was right. Even though Rey had a nearly impossible time believing in an afterlife, she had to admit her friend had an uncanny sense at times. What if there were more to it than she had given credit for? 

Still - her desire to speak with her parents was more wishful thinking than something she was willing to pursue through hocus pocus. If she let herself get swept up in it, it would surely lead to more disappointment when she confirmed it wasn’t real. And could that put her friendship with Kaydel in jeopardy? 

There was too much to lose and too little to gain, as far as Rey could see. Wherever her parents were now, Rey was alone in this world and she would just have to learn to stand on her own two feet.

***

_ Present Day _

Rey smoothed out the hem of her black dress, picking off a stray piece of lint. She took a breath and headed up the brick steps that led into the parlor of the funeral home. She wished she was anywhere but here, but she wanted to be supportive for Maz. 

There was a crowd gathered already, all clothed in respectful shades of black, gray, and navy blue, and seeing them only heightened Rey’s anxiety. She inwardly cursed herself for waiting so long to get ready this afternoon; putting it off had felt good in the moment but now that she had to mingle with people she barely knew, she saw it was a short lived comfort. 

_ You can do this, Rey. Maz was there for you through some difficult moments, now it’s time to return the favor. _

Across the sea of lined up heads, Rey saw her four-foot-one mentor at the front of the queue, with her shock of orange hair and her oversized spectacles that practically swallowed her features. She looked so much older, even though it had only been a few years since Rey last saw her in person. Rey supposed losing one’s husband of forty years would do that anyone. Poor Maz. She had been her academic advisor in university, always so encouraging and acting as the surrogate mother Rey never had, and now she was grieving. Rey absolutely loathed funerals, but she had to return the same comfort Maz had so freely given to her. 

Charles, or “Chewie,” as he was affectionately called by his friends, had been well liked in the community and it was quite the turn out in the small parlor home. She waited in line with the others, trying not to catch anyone’s eyes to avoid small talk, until finally after about thirty minutes it was her turn to speak to Maz. 

When Maz saw her, the older woman immediately reached out for a hug. “Why, it’s Rey Johnson! Goodness me, it’s been, what...?”

“Almost two years,” Rey finished softly, folding her mentor into a genuine embrace. “Oh Maz, I’m so sorry about Chewie.” 

Maz gave her a firm squeeze and patted her back. She looked up at Rey with tears sparkling in her eyes. “Thank you, sweetheart. I’m certainly going to miss that gentle giant,” she finished with a rueful chuckle.

“I wish I had known him better. But you always seemed so happy when you talked about him, so I know he was a special person. And I can see from everybody here today he will be sorely missed.”

“That he was, that he was. But you know, Rey,” Maz said, her face suddenly serious, “No one’s ever really gone.” 

Rey gave her mentor a quizzical look, and she wanted to say more but the line behind her spurred her to wrap up their chat. The services would be starting soon, and she needed to take her seat. 

“Can we please catch up soon? I don’t want another year and a half to go by without seeing you,” she asked.

“I’d really like that,” the old woman smiled. “Call me anytime.”

With that, Rey nodded warmly and moved into the chapel to sit. She chose a spot in the very back, intending to go as soon as the service was over, now that she had paid her respects to Maz. Goodbyes were always painful for her, even if the person wasn’t especially close. It felt like a light in the world being snuffed out, and the thought was unbearably sad. 

As she listened to the music and the eulogies, her mind kept spinning back to what Maz said. _ No one’s ever really gone _. She couldn’t help but think of her own parents. It had been 23 years since she saw them or heard their voices, and they certainly felt gone to her. Without even so much as a handful of memories to keep them alive, what hope did Rey have of holding them near? They occupied a space in her heart more filled with ‘what ifs’ than ‘what was.’ The pang of this realization struck her sharply in the chest, for what was certainly not the first time nor would it be the last. 

***

A few weeks went by, and the days were growing shorter again. It was that time of year Rey felt especially lonely, with the holidays on the horizon and her having no plans as usual. Kaydel would invite her to Thanksgiving at her house, and Rey would decline like always, feeling caught between the deafening silence of her one bedroom apartment or the invisibility that comes with being surrounded by people that don’t really belong to you. She would choose the former, making a turkey TV dinner with a side of canned cranberry and binging The Office reruns, and do her best to distract from the day. 

But first there was Halloween. Rey did admit Halloween was the one holiday she didn’t dread. In college she and Kaydel had gone to costume parties every year, giving Rey the chance to flex her creativity by making homemade yet clever outfits for them both. They would scour the thrift stores for weeks, looking for cheap pieces that, when assembled together, looked a lot better than the overpriced crap sold at Party City. Now that she was out of school, she still dressed up to answer the door. She looked forward to handing out gobs of candy to adorable kids and watching scary movies between doorbell rings. It was a holiday centered more around fun than family, and that was something she could get behind. 

When the fall coffee flavors started hitting the cafes, Rey remembered her promise to Maz. _ It would be good to check up on her _, she thought, and took out her phone to send her a text. 

**Rey**: “Hey Maz, would you be up for grabbing that coffee soon? Let me know. I’m thinking of you.”

Three little dots appeared almost immediately, warming Rey’s heart to see. 

**Maz**: “Yes, great! Meet at the Java Hut today at 3?”

**Rey**: “I’ll see you then.”

Rey walked into the Java Hut precisely at three, beaming when she spotted Maz at a table in the back, a coffee cup already cradled in her small hands. She walked over to greet her, then got in line to order her mocha latte. Rey waited until they called out her order and joined Maz at the table.

She gave Maz a small smile. “How have you been?”

Maz breathed a tremulous sigh. “As well as I can be, I suppose. The kids are checking up on me a lot, coming over for dinner almost every night. It’s been so good to spend more time with them.”

Maz and Chewie had five children, all adults now, and Rey was happy to hear they were keeping her company. 

“That’s great! Is Chris going to stay in the area awhile?” 

“He says he will. He told me he put his contracts on hold, at least until after Christmas. But who knows. That boy is just like his father, you can barely keep him in one place for long. Always off to wherever the next adventure takes him.” Maz took a long sip of her coffee.

“Yeah. Must be really exciting for him,” Rey said.

“Sure, and I can understand that. But I’d also like to see him settle down someday, give me some more grandbabies.” 

“Mm,” Rey murmured, falling silent for a moment. Then she plucked up her courage and spoke again. “Maz, there was something I wanted to ask you. At the funeral, you told me, ‘No one’s ever really gone.’ What did you mean by that?”

Maz nodded, understanding growing soft in her eyes. “Well, I believe those we have lost stay with us, more than we might realize. We have our memories of them, of course, things to remember them by, and then there are ways their presence can still be felt in our lives...”

Rey felt a trickle of emotion then, though she couldn’t be sure if it was relief or disappointment. “Ah, yes, of course. Memories are...precious.” _ If only she had any of her parents. _

“There’s more to it than that, though. At least, how I see it,” Maz continued, and seemed to be choosing her words carefully. “I think...no, I _ know _, Chewie is still watching over me. In fact, I talked to him just yesterday.” 

“You...you talked to him?” Rey blanched.

“Yes. It sounds crazy, maybe, but...Dahlia knew how much I was missing him, and she bought me tickets to go see a medium. Amilyn Holdo. Have you ever heard of her?”

“That woman who has the TV show on the Reality Network??” She was trying hard to keep the skepticism out of her voice, but maybe she wasn’t doing a great job.

“Yes! That’s her!” If Maz noticed Rey’s judging tone, she didn’t let it show. Her large eyes lit up at the recognition. 

This was surreal. She had always known Maz to be a woman of science. As her advisor in the School of Engineering, she was meticulous and logical. She had never shared her beliefs about the supernatural with Rey, even though she knew Rey was an orphan. Was this just a byproduct of her grief?

“Wow,” was all she could say in the moment. 

“I know some people might say she’s just a quack, but you should’ve heard the things she told me about Chewie. Things she couldn’t possibly have known, unless it was really him speaking to her.” 

“Like what, Maz? I...have a really hard time believing in ghosts. I mean, it’s not the most scientific thing, is it?” Rey looked down at her hands, avoiding eye contact.

“Well, she told me a phrase from a letter he wrote me on our wedding day, for starters. I was stunned. And I know what you mean, Rey. I’ve always believed in some sort of afterlife, but I wasn’t expecting anything like this. But how can I doubt it now? Science can tell us so many things about the world we live in, absolutely. But only 300 years ago we would have called electricity witchcraft. Isn’t it possible that there are still some things left to discover?”

“Yes...I suppose that’s true. I’m happy you got what you wanted from the experience.” 

“So am I. You know, I think you’ve been searching for some answers yourself for a long time, Rey. Maybe you should be open to the idea that they might come from somewhere you don’t suspect.”

“Yeah,” she replied softly. “Maybe so.”

Rey changed the subject and they drank the rest of their coffee over more cheerful topics. Rey caught Maz up on her job and got her advice on some certifications she was interested in pursuing. It was a good visit, and she hoped it lifted Maz’s spirits the way it had done for her. 

When she returned to her apartment, she grabbed her laptop and plopped onto the couch. Artoo, her golden retriever, happily hopped up beside her and laid his fluffy head in her lap. She gave him a hug then gently moved his head to sit the computer down between her folded legs. 

Curiosity had gotten the best of her. Maz was someone she deeply respected. Maybe this was the sign she had been waiting for. It couldn’t hurt to at least look?

Opening up her browser, she typed _ Amilyn Holdo _ into Google. 

The top hit was her website, www.spiritualconnections.com. Rey suppressed a snort, it sounded like a Christian dating site or something. 

The site had a soothing blue background with a sparkling starry banner at the top, with Amilyn’s name written in scrolling gold font. Below it was her picture. She wore minimal makeup and Rey had to admit she had an earnest face, despite her unconventional lavender hair. She looked...serene. 

Under her photo was a short biography. She discovered her powers as an empath as a young girl, which led to a special connection with people and animals. She had her first encounter with a spirit when she was eight years old; her grandmother appeared in her room at night and the two would have conversations at length. Her parents thought it was just the overactive imagination of a child, until Amilyn told them that her grandmother had hidden a box on their property with a significant amount of bonds in it and the information proved to be accurate. 

She promised to utilize her gift to _‘Help you, too, connect with your lost loved ones and angel guides._ _You have questions_,’ the website said, ‘_The spirits have answers.’ _

Rey suppressed her rising feeling of incredulousness and clicked the link that said _ Appearances _. Holdo was in town for three shows, apparently, the last of which was tonight. 

_ Tonight _? A spike of adrenaline hit her. It was already four-thirty. The show didn’t start until seven though. Maybe Kaydel would want to go with her? This was really up her alley, and after years of dropping hints that she could help Rey achieve her goal, she would probably be thrilled that she was open to the possibility. 

Rey clicked to purchase tickets and stopped in her tracks. They were $250 apiece! She didn’t have that kind of money to just drop; not even half that, if she went alone. 

Tears started to prick at her eyes, and she slammed the laptop closed and shoved it away. She had finally decided to give in to this ludicrous idea, and now she would never know if it even worked. 

Rey covered her face with her hand. _ Mom...Dad...I just wanted to hear you guys say you loved me, just one time. _

She started to cry in earnest, jagged sobs racking her shoulders. Artoo licked at her cheek, comforting her in the only way he knew how. 

The buzzing of her phone on the coffee table distracted her momentarily. She didn’t feel like answering it, but she glanced to see whose name was flashing across the screen anyway.

It was Kaydel. A thought seized her, and she tapped the_ Talk _ button.

“Kay?” Rey said, her voice still wobbling with emotion.

“Rey? What’s wrong, have you been crying?” Kaydel’s gentle voice replied on the other end. 

“Yeah. But it’s not important. I need to ask you a question.”

“Ok, anything, of course.” 

“Do you remember how you told me before that you could help me get in contact with my parents?”


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you sure it has to be on Halloween?” Rey asked.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s the day when the veil between the living and the dead is the thinnest. If we’re able to speak to your parents, it will be then.”

“It’s just...Halloween is the only holiday I really enjoy, you know. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I want to try this, but...”

Kaydel smiled gently. “Don’t worry. It’s only going to make you love the holiday more. And besides, you won’t miss anything. We’re going to do it later, after the trick or treaters are gone. We can have some fun first, ok? But make sure you ask off for work the next day so we don’t have to rush.”

Rey gave a little shrug, though she was appreciative of Kaydel’s efforts. It had been two weeks since she asked for her friend’s help, and her doubts were starting to creep back in. But Kay had wanted to help her with this forever, and it wasn’t like she had anything to lose at this point. 

“Sure, Kay, I will.”

***

The night had finally come, and Rey was stress eating M&M’s as she watched the clock crawl closer to 11pm. She had enjoyed seeing all the kids dressed for the occasion, handing out generous handfuls of candy in between exclamations of “Oooh, what a great costume!” and “Aren’t you adorable!” She and Kaydel had left Nightmare on Elm Street on the TV in the background, laughing at the hokey special effects and bad acting. 

But now she was standing in the kitchen corner beside her small IKEA dining table, observing Kaydel as she prepped the room. Her friend was lugging a 25lb bag of salt, purchased from a restaurant supply store, and letting the contents siphon out onto the floor in a white division across every doorway. Artoo whimpered from his crate, voicing his hurt feelings at being left out of the festivities, but Kaydel had made it clear the salt line was to remain absolutely undisturbed throughout the entire process. 

When that was done, she laid a large chalk board face up onto the table, and drew a pentagram in one unbroken motion. A tea light candle was set at each of the five points and lit, and only then was the Ouija board placed in the center. It seemed like a lot of trouble for something that was supposedly a child’s game played at slumber parties, but Rey wasn’t about to chicken out now. Best case was she could finally get some answers from her mom and dad, and worst case was the night would be a dud and she would have to awkwardly reassure Kaydel it wasn’t her fault it didn’t work. That wouldn’t be so terrible - right? 

The blonde girl looked up at her, as if just now remembering she was in the room. Still, her smile was as serene as ever. She took a quick glance at the clock, which said 10:55, and then back at her. “Ready, Sunshine?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose.” She took a seat opposite to Kaydel, so they were across from each other with the board in between. 

“Then let’s begin. Just to refresh some things: First, I will speak an invocation. After that, we will place our hands on the planchette, and you will ask your questions. At the end - and this is very important Rey - we will say our closing invocation, and close out the board by moving the planchette of our own free will to the word GOODBYE. That is what will close the connection and make sure it doesn’t have remaining presence after our session. Got all that?”

Rey nodded, feeling a bubbling of nerves below her calm exterior. Could she be only moments away from speaking to her parents for the first time in 23 years?

Kaydel shut her eyes, and Rey followed her lead. 

Her friend began. “Spirits, we call upon you tonight to speak to us through this conduit. We invoke you in the name of love and light, and come before you in good faith. Our intentions are pure, and we ask that you deal with us fairly, as we respect your power. Let this space be sanctified and covered by the protection of goodness, and let nothing pass here which has not the highest regard for heaven and earth.”

With these words, they opened their eyes and Kaydel placed her fingertips on the planchette in the board’s center, nodding slightly for Rey to do the same. 

Rey took a deep breath. The moment of truth.

Kay had prepped her a bit on what to ask and the order to go in. She tried to clear her mind as she remembered the instructions. 

“Hello. Is anyone there?” 

The planchette was stuck in place, though it slightly trembled from the two pairs of hands upon it. But no real movement. 

Rey waited while a long moment passed. Should she ask her question again? She was beginning to feel supremely silly, the realization setting in that here she was in her apartment, a 25 year old seeking answers about herself from a cardboard cutout and a piece of cheap plastic. Therapy was a hell of a lot more expensive but it surely would be less humiliating.

She was just about to break the tension in the room when she felt a small tug on the object she held. It was subtle at first, and then a definite jerk moved her and Kaydel’s hands half an inch toward the top of the board. 

Her hazel eyes snapped up to Kaydel’s deep brown ones, but found her panic was not matched there. Her friend had a slight smile on her lips as the planchette continued to slowly but steadily drift across the letters, up to the left corner. 

“Are you moving it?” Rey mouthed, almost afraid to speak. Surely this was some kind of prank. But no, in her heart she knew that Kaydel took this sort of thing very seriously and would never manipulate the outcome, not even to comfort her. 

Kaydel shook her head slightly, just as Rey knew she would, and then Rey looked down at the board again. The planchette had stopped moving and fisheye lens in the center of the triangle was directly over the word  _ YES _ . The lens created an eerie distortion of the letters below, seeming to pop off the board.

Goosebumps formed on her skin and her fine hairs gave a standing ovation. Still, this was what she had asked for, wasn’t it? So she decided to press onward.

She cleared her throat, resolving to sound confident. “Am I speaking to either of my parents?”

Again, a pause, but shorter this time, and the marker slid to the right, directly across. 

_ NO _

Rey did freeze then, and nearly released the planchette. She only held on because Kaydel had briefed her repeatedly before today that she must not let go until the session was closed by telling it, “Goodbye.” It seemed silly to her then, only a few short hours ago, but now that she was seeing the proof that this worked, it sounded like an alarm in her mind. 

Looking at Kaydel, Rey screeched, “It’s not my parents? Then who is it Kay??”

Kaydel still did not look rattled, but this time instead of being comforting, it annoyed her. She was trusting Kay to help her here, and suddenly she did not feel in control. 

“It’s ok, Rey. This is very common. Your parents have been gone a long time. You are their last remaining family. Their connection to the world of the living is most likely weak because of this.”

“But you said—“ Rey interrupted.

“I know, I know. But most likely we’re speaking to a spirit guide or other entity that can still help us communicate with them. Do you want to go on? I still think we can get the answers you want.” 

“Y—yes...I guess so,” Rey said, though she didn’t feel so sure. 

If she stopped to think about it, she didn’t really expect that this would work at all. Seeing the proof for herself, knowing she didn’t move the planchette and believing wholeheartedly that Kaydel didn’t either, it was all just a little much to process for someone who spent most of their life being agnostic. But if there was a power here, wouldn’t she be foolish to come this close and then let it go? She would always wonder, and that would be worse than overcoming her fear. 

“Ok then,” Kaydel said. “Whenever you’re ready.”

“Alright...Spirit. Are you someone I know?”

She tried to remain calm as the planchette moved again. Each time it moved faster, with less resistance. 

_ YES _

More chills. Rey racked her brain to think of anyone else she could know that had passed away, but there was no one. Except — this couldn’t possibly be Chewie, could it? She had only met him twice, briefly each time, and exchanged merely polite conversation. He wasn’t much of a talker. Still, who else could it be, if the board said she knew them?

“What is your name?”

This was not a yes or no question, so it would take more time to get the answer. It seemed to require more energy to transmit also, because the planchette had slowed again. 

The first letter was a  _ K _ .

That ruled out Chewie, and now Rey felt a mixture of fear and intrigue taking over. Who was this?

_ Y _

Rey said each letter aloud, trying to make them into some sort of sense. 

_ L _

_ O _

“Kai-low,” she sounded out, thoroughly confused. “Kaydel, do you know anyone named Kylo?”

Kaydel shook her head, and Rey noticed that her friend was beginning to look a bit pale. She was just about to comment on it when she realized the planchette was still moving. 

The next letter was an  _ R _ .

Then came an  _ E _ .

And finally, an  _ N _ . 

“Kylo Ren?” Rey said aloud. It didn’t even sound like a real name, and she definitely didn’t know this thing, spirit, like it said she did. She had read up a bit on Ouija before tonight, and the internet said it worked by power of suggestion. Had she just freaked herself out earlier and actually been the one moving it all along? Because this “name” made no sense, surely it was just moving randomly? 

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kaydel, who began suddenly to cough. Her hands reflexively curled off the planchette, and Rey, in surprise, left it resting on the board. 

“Kaydel? Are you ok?” Rey asked, concern in her voice, as her friend kept coughing harder, spittle flying from her lips. 

Finally, with one last strangled gurgle, Kaydel stopped. Her eyes were watered at the rims. “Excuse me, I don’t know what happened...” Then, she noticed the dropped marker.

“Rey, the planchette!” She exclaimed.

Rey looked down where it lay on the board. “I’m sorry, I was just startled when you started coughing, and...it’s not really that big of a deal, right?”

“Maybe...maybe we should stop for tonight. That name, Ren...it sounds familiar to me but I can’t place from where. I can do the closing invocation, and it should be ok, and...”

Rey’s eyebrows furrowed. “Kay, I trust you, I do, and if you really feel we should stop then we will but...I never believed in this stuff, and you kept telling me how it was real, and now I’m so close to what I came here for. I...really want to keep going. Can we?”

Kaydel looked back, and she swallowed hard, considering. It was rare to see her normally easy-going friend look this concerned, but if this Kylo Ren could really help her communicate with her parents then she had to try. 

“Ok, Rey. A little longer. But we need to finish before midnight.” She glanced at the clock, which showed twenty after the hour. “No exceptions.” 

Rey nodded. “Agreed.” 

Rey flipped the planchette right side up where it had fallen, and placed her fingertips back on the edges. Kaydel did the same. 

“Sorry, uh, sorry about letting go of this, Spirit. Kylo. No harm no foul?” Rey cracked a smile, hoping to lighten the mood. Kaydel returned it weakly but it was fake. 

She was about to continue when an idea struck her. What if she could find out if this spirit was the real deal? She could ask it some test questions first before getting into what she really needed to know. There wasn’t a lot of time, though, so she’d have to choose wisely. 

“How old was I when my parents died?”

The planchette shuddered its way toward the number  _ 2 _ on the board, and stopped. 

So far, so good. But if this was the power of suggestion, it probably wouldn’t do to ask it anything that Kaydel also knew the answer to. 

Her friend’s eyebrows were quirked, and the question in her eyes showed she didn’t understand why Rey chose something she already knew. 

“Just trust me,” Rey said. Then, addressing the board, “What was the name of my first foster mother?”

“ _ P-L-U-T-T _ ” the lens spelled out in slow succession. It was only the last name, but it was correct, right down to the unusual spelling. 

Rey’s eyes lit up. She never discussed with Kaydel the cruel, greedy woman Rey spent the first decade of her life with. She had disclosed that she grew up in foster care, but not much else; these were memories she preferred to forget. Still, the board had known. “Kylo” had known. This was both thrilling, and unsettling at once. She tried to focus on the former feeling. 

“Ok, Kaydel, now I want you to ask something that I don’t know the answer to,” Rey said, glancing up at the girl on the other side of the table. 

“I...I’m not sure I want to,” came the reply, and Rey saw then that her friend was shivering, though as someone who was cold natured, Rey always kept her apartment on a balmy 71 degrees. 

“What’s wrong? You’re cold?”

“Yes. It’s freezing in here. Isn’t it?”

She shook her head no, but said nothing more. The time for tests was over, it seemed. She would have to trust this spirit, and get the answers she needed quickly. Artoo whined in his crate, protesting his confinement. A knot of emotion tightened in her stomach, and she sensed there was no turning back.

“Were my parents in love with each other?”

Relief trickled over her when the answer was a swift  _ YES _

Spurred on by the hope of something she had always wondered, her shoulders relaxed. 

The next question would be harder, though. It was one that had haunted her, kept her awake so many nights when she couldn’t sleep. What were their last moments like? 

Trying to keep her voice from shaking, she asked, “Were they thinking of me right before they died?”

_ NO _

It stung like cold water splashing on her face. But there were a million things they could have been thinking, right? Regret of lost time, their first moments together, even confusion or — though she hoped not, pain. 

“Rey,” Kaydel said, in a thin voice that sounded far away. Rey did not pay it any attention.

“What were they thinking of, then?” She asked the board. 

This was not a yes or no question so the answer would have to be pieced together. 

_ C _ , came the first letter.

_ U _

_ R _

Rey was saying them aloud again, though under her breath this time, trying to anticipate what the arrow was spelling. She vaguely noticed that Kaydel’s fingers were bone white as they gripped the other side of the planchette, but her eyes remained for the most part glued to the board.

_ S _

_ E _

“Curse??” She cried. What the hell did it mean, curse? This thing seemed to be playing a game with her, and she wasn’t sure she liked the rules anymore. 

“Rey...” Kaydel said again, louder this time. 

“What does it mean by that, Kaydel? Curse? Ugh! It’s talking in riddles!” She exclaimed in frustration. 

The next question she addressed with a commanding tone, intent on making this spirit give her some information about her parents she could actually use. Something to comfort her. Something to cling to. “Kylo, are my parents still protecting me?”

She flinched as though struck by an ear splitting blow when the planchette moved to  _ NO _ . That had to be a lie. She had tried to deny her belief in the afterlife, in the supernatural, but she had felt it. Felt it! The things that happened around her growing up that she couldn’t explain, the ways in which she always seemed to come out on top of a situation despite being dealt the shittiest hand. All the board accomplished was to make her feel worse, and yet she felt compelled to keep going. Why?

“Rey, we really need to stop now,” her friend pleaded. 

She waved her off with a tilt of her chin. “Just one more question, then we’ll stop, I promise. Kylo, is there  _ something _ watching over me?”

_ YES _

“I knew it, I knew it!” She exclaimed, at last triumphant. 

It was short lived. 

“Rey...” Kaydel moaned, begging for her attention now, and then Rey looked up at her at last. Her complexion was pallid. Sweat was beading on her forehead, but her lips were blue. 

“I don’t feel so good,” she said weakly, “Please, I need to rest.” 

Rey was about to agree, planchette and board be damned, because the realization was dawning that Kaydel was truly ill. She needed to lie down, she needed some air and some water, and Rey had just sat here stupidly and selfishly playing with something she didn’t understand...God, she felt like a fool, and her heart squeezed in pain for her friend. 

But the board had other plans. As soon as Rey let go of the planchette, it hit the cardboard with the sound of a ball bearing striking cement. The echoing thud was utterly absurd, given that it was made of cheap lightweight plastic. It got stranger still when the table itself began to quiver on its legs, bouncing and sliding the board over its surface. 

Terror crouched low in Rey’s mind, coiled like a cobra before the strike. Kaydel started to moan, Artoo barked savagely, and the table was scraping across the hardwood floor like fingernails on the inside of a coffin lid. 

She gripped her friend around the shoulders, pulling her back from the convulsing table. The Ouija board had dropped to the floor now, the planchette sliding to some unseen location. Rey shut her eyes to make it all go away, she screamed at someone that could not be seen, “WHAT DO YOU WANT??” As though meeting its demands could make it stop. 

Kaydel was huddled in her embrace like a scared child. When the next  _ THUD _ boomed across the room, going off like a shotgun and making Artoo lunge so wildly in his crate that the bars rattled, Rey screamed again, wordlessly this time. 

She didn’t want to open her eyes to see what had made that sound. But the table had blessedly stopped shaking, and Rey hoped it was over. When she did face what was waiting on the outside of the darkness, it offered no comfort at all.

The sound was the huge bag of salt on the counter tumbling over, bursting and spilling its remaining contents onto her kitchen floor. 

In the sea of tiny white granules, there was an answer to the question she had only asked reflexively. 

Three letters written in thick strokes, an unmistakable message:

_ YOU _


End file.
